Summary

Background: Delayed diagnosis of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) adversely affects visual outcome.

Objectives: To identify factors associated with early detection of CNV in the clinic setting.
Methods: Demographic and clinical data and lesion characteristics were retrospectively collected from 76 consecutive AMD patients who had a history of CNV in one eye and presented with CNV in the second eye. These data were evaluated for association with visual acuity (VA) at the time of presentation.

Results: Better VA was associated with a history of CNV in the fellow eye (P < 0.0001), adherence to follow-up every 4 months (P = 0.015), younger age (P = 0.03), smaller lesion (P < 0.0001), and non-subfoveal location (P = 0.048). VA of the fellow eye did not correlate with VA at presentation with CNV.

Conclusions: These data suggest that patients’ experience of CNV, regardless of VA, facilitates early diagnosis in the fellow eye. Adherence to follow-up in the routine clinic setting also facilitates early detection of CNV.